Dobbo

It's all part of El Plan 👌

It's precisely because of the fact they haven't won anything as to why they're labelled bottlers though. And because they always come out of the blocks quick and then choke on the home straight...

I finally got round to watching this recently. The people I feel most sorry for are the 226 people who turned up only to sit still in a room for nearly 8 minutes whilst one nominated person failed to count to 456 more accurately than another by about 5 seconds or whatever it was! Also think the last game was 100% scripted.

Finally got round to listening to this and... add me to the fan club, sounds great.

On his birthday of all days, lol.

BJSC semis gonna drop before this

Add this to the list of bizarre and bewildering Sports performance excuses! Premier League Darts: Josh Rock blames bathroom soap for Michael van Gerwen defeat - BBC Sport

If do go on to lose the title then they absolutely are 100% bottlers given they will likely have lead the standings for almost the entire season only to lose it right at the business end. No other word for it. That match last night was classic Arteta, go 2-0 up and instead of pressing on they try and see out the game, against statistically one of the worst clubs in PL history might I add. This kind of weak/cautious mentality is why they'll probably never win the league under him, at least while Pep is still around anyway. Not really (glory days of the late 90s/early 00s rivalry long gone now!) but I absolutely can't stand significant proportions of their delusional, entitled and arrogant fanbase. That's why I was even supporting yous guys last season over them!

Oh wow Benfica have claimed a defamation campaign against Prestianni. That's a bold f***ing hill to plant your flag on.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0Vs3 Arsenal

BJSC 118 Host Countries: The Actual Republic of Bellamia & Jadakissnia Overview The next contest was neatly joint-hosted by the previous one's top 2 with Bellamia handling the semis and Jadakissnia the final. For us, the pressure was cranked back up again as we targeted an unprecedented landmark tenth qualifier in a row for our 40th contest and most unfortunately, this was where things dramatically unravelled. Initially, we opted to send what we considered would be a complete banker however, after squeezing through on a few previous occasions with probable borderline veto-worthy entries, this time we flew a bit too close to sun and ended up with our first and, still to this day, only ever veto. The song in question was Virtual Self's 'Particle Arts' which is a full on EDM banger and a half and would likely had performed rather well based on how well their previous entry 'Ghost Voices' did - of course that being a large reason behind the veto and indeed the act's name being an alias to a rather popular producer in Porter Robinson. Alas, this was a new experience for us which led to us scrambling for a suitable replacement that perhaps wasn't well thought through (more on than below). A tiny consolation to what transpired was that this was the first ever contest where our entire top 10 from the semi qualified. 118 also gave us another new winner in Lotunia with a song that did manage to eclipse the 300 point barrier. Dobago's Entry Result: DNQ (29th in Semi) The veto of our original entry did catch us somewhat off-guard despite the undeniable risk that sending it posed so we were then stuck in contemplation mode regarding where to go next. This track had been a backseat potential for a decent while (likely for good reason) but such was our uncertainty of which direction to lean towards that we eventually settled for something that was very much rooted in our "sound" - the only problem being was the contest had moved on since then and this was never going to stand out in the right way. It's a very pleasant deep house track with tenderly sung Bulgarian lyrics so very much a fusion of a number of previous Dobagan entries in that sense but with the key word being "pleasant" this was never likely going to attract big scores (nor indeed many scores at all as it turned out) and it limply crashed out of its semi in second bottom, becoming our worst ever performing entry in terms of both position and points. I still rather this song and it's top notch a for chill, summer playlist but it does go down as the one blot on an otherwise very successful year for the nation. Winning Entry Country: Lotunia First thing that struck me about this entry was that I knew a girl called Charlotte Lawrence at university but can 100% say that it is not the same person as behind this song. Second point of note is, we're straight back to snubbing winners again. This is a quite playful pop song with a marching-style beat and understated vocals. Listening back, I do recall this song reasonably well but it didn't strike much of a chord overall. The stuttering lyrics in the chorus to match the beat is quite cool in a quirky way but otherwise it's a pretty run of the mill song that is too ten a penny for me. It won by an impressive margin of 33 points so certainly deserved its status in the winner's lounge but I personally wouldn't wilfully be spending any time in its corner. Although we clearly were singing from a completely different hymn sheet to the masses in this contest with us snubbing the entire top 6 which is probably still a national record for that niche statistic. 18-Pointer Country: Danæviia (result: 27th) A song that expertly catches the late summer vibes with the Spanish guitar and cut-straight-from-the-dancefloor sounds. The act who, despite the name is actually a single producer from Switzerland, was one I was vaguely familiar with but had yet to hear anything of his that truly caught my attention. However that promptly changed with this track which blends its fluffy verse sections with hard-hitting future house refrains for a very enjoyable package. I remember replaying this quite intensely at the time and in the following weeks however it is an entry I've barely ever revisited since then. It does sound rather more dated than many of my other gold medallists from the time and for that reason there'd be a fair bit of reshuffling in a retrospective vote. In fact I'd go so far as push it all the way down to at least 5th with all of 'Feel Love', 'Yuve Yuve Yu', 'The City Sleeps Tonight' and 'Rank & File' holding up better in my estimation. The first 2 of those especially still both sound excellent for entirely different reasons, one being a fantastic house song with glorious vocals and the other an electrifying folk metal number with ACTUAL Mongolian throat singing. We do stan.

Oh yes the iconic Basil theme! Speaking of which...

No matter how many times I see it I always read as MNEK first...

Ah I do sometimes take the YT links from the relevant final threads to make sure I'm reviewing the exact version entered into the contest but must have forgotten to this time. I almost certainly would have listened to the Spotify version anyway back at the time so was only really ever familiar with the full version. No need to apologise :D I always find it quite fun when you get 2+ entries of a similar and specific vein entered into the same contest (per your comments in my country thread at the time Aelandor's entry also fit that mould although I haven't listened back to that and without double-checking think it finished last in its semi too oops) much like the UK garage battle with Buzzjack Mountain in 99, to see which song ends up prevailing.

Mourinho plunging to new depths last night with his comments, the man is so desperate to always remain centre of attention and make it all about him. Basically the Trump of football these days. Also can't believe he has the gall to call out Vini Jr for celebrating "disrespectfully" when this was the same man who once upon a time did a 100m run and kneeslide down the Old Trafford touchline (and not when he was United manager)...

I feel like this will be one of those era-defining songs that will remain in the public consciousness for decades to come.

Sombr ~ Homewrecker - the song is decent but his vocals are... annoying on this one? Myles Smith and Niall Horan ~ Drive Safe - if you asked AI to produce the BLANDEST song of all time, this is about right Calvin Harris and Kasabian - Release The Pressure - a collab that looks crazy on paper but it somehow works, decent beat! J. Cole ~ Two Six - this is fire, one of the best I've ever heard from him J. Cole ~ Safety - nice vibe and flow but a little too on the unnecessarily long side J. Cole ~ Bunce Road Blues (feat. Future and Tems) - this one's just boring and rather muddled Esdeekid ~ Omens - another strong one from him but a bit of a surprise flop considering how high his stock currently is Zayn ~ Die for Me - nothing interesting going on here Esdeekid, Fakemink and Rico Ace ~ LV Sandals - dumb as hell song and that repetitive 'ok' is soul destroying Voted Calvin/Kas, J. Cole & SDKid

Both that and DB Boulevard's Point Of View are wonderful.

England 20v14 Ireland Wales 5v37 Scotland France 49v6 Italy

I'm annoyed I didn't put Scotland to beat England, they always beat us! Also surprised that there isn't the traditional week break between rounds 2 & 3 this year.

Only the Chart Show and First Look Show and 99% on catch up. Never any other times.

Queen being here is SO random?! And don't think I've ever heard this Akon song before But has to be Wyclef first, what the hell even is that song...

I'll reserve judgment till I hear the actual song.

My only semi-confident guess would be CowTzy being behind Brain Power? But even then not sure.

BJSC 117 Host Country: Aeroche Overview Following their win last time out Aeroche took full reins of hosting duties. This was another contest which overlapped with a personal holiday (namely to Split) so I have good memories listening back to some of the entries. By now it was exciting to see just how long we could keep extending our qualifying streak which currently stood at 8 and whether we could manage to achieve a full year of zero DNQs (spoiler alert: we didn't). I never realised at the time just how many relatively low scoring winners there were in 2019 but 117 kept that trend up with Jadakissnia claiming their first ever victory by a slender 4 point margin over what would have been another debut winner in TARO Bellamia. The top 8 all finished within 34 points of each other and just like the previous contest, the semi finals were both incredibly close affairs as well. This really was an exciting time for the contest! Dobago's Entry Result: 29th This is unquestionably top 5 in my personal list of entries, a truly stunning song which packs in every feeling and emotion. I absolutely love the unusual structure which transitions from section to section and takes the listener on a introspective journey with extremely poignant and hard-hitting lyrics. EDEN is no Frank Sinatra on the vocals but he conveys such passion and rawness that it barely matters and in fact it totally complements the gritty sound and nature of the track. But the highlight most certainly is the incredible production, with sweeping strings and foreboding instrumentation culminating in a magnificent drop that segues into elements of trap and breakbeat. It's one of those ultra-rare songs that almost always gives me goosebumps in the best way possible and I was delighted that it qualified (fittingly it was drawn at the "start" of its semi in terms of running order) and finished at least in the top 30, coincidently tied on points with a song that sampled another which I had come seriously close to entering earlier that year. I cannot speak highly enough of this song and it really is one of those oh so rare diamonds that you cherish forever. Winning Entry Country: Jadakissnia First point to note is hooray, we finally gave points to a winner again! Albeit a modest 4 but in such a year that's a win in itself. It had felt a while since deep house was having a purple patch in the contest but this track captures a lot of the great elements of that subgenre and sprinkles in dark, moody vocals and very striking, wobbly instrumental sections. I remember being quite surprised at this winning but as mentioned, BJSC really was in a phase where it felt like almost any genre had a chance of competing for the win. I wouldn't call it a massive fave, I'm not mad about the vocals but the production is absolutely on point and it brings about a spooky vibe that adds to the overall listening experience. 18-Pointer Country: Bøtanikkä (result: 10th) It had felt a good while since we gave top marks to our good friends Bøtanikkä but that run duly came to an end with this entry. After a few contests of awarding gold to more experimental-leaning, ultra-long songs, this was a return to the rather more radio friendly numbers. This certainly feels like a throwback sound to when Bøtanikkä were at the height of their powers in 2016 (from a Dobagan perspective), with fantastic soaring vocals backed up by outstanding house production. Not a second is wasted here, with hook after hook and a non-stop, pulsating beat that demands attention and a burning desire to hit the repeat button immediately. I was not aware of nor familiar with the original version from 2000 at all (giving it a spin now it's complete chalk and cheese to this remix) but it likely would have mattered little anyway given how totally different they sound. Remarkably, this was the third contest in a row where our gold medal was fighting on the cusp of the top 10 but thankfully this time around it fell on the right side of the line. It would have actually still just about made it had it received our 15 points instead, which on reflection would be more likely as our original silver medallist 'All About U' undoubtedly now takes the mantle of best discovery, a quite excellent slice of airy and whimsical-sounding electronica. The bronze went to another breezy dance bop in 'Famous' which perfectly encapsulated the scorching summer weather enjoyed at times that year. Now one thing I miss from more modern BJSC is the appearance of a good novelty track and 117 truly delivered on that front with 'Cruel Summer', sounding just as iconic now as it did back then and can we flatteringly call it forward-thinking with the AI-esque vocals? Maybe preaching to wrong crowd there with that take...